We’re All Screwed, Aren’t We? IMF Warns Of The Danger Zone

ARE we screwed? Growth’s in the toilet, countries are going bust left right and centre and they’re going to take the entire banking system down with them and…..well, no, hang on a minute. Have a look at this one little statistic:

Things aren’t looking that great for the rest of the world either. There isn’t a single upward revision to be seen, and global growth has been revised from 4.3pc to 4pc.

Now yes, we’re wondering whether the UK economy is going to grow at all this year, the US might manage 1% growth and Greece has shrunk by 5% (or if we use the usual Greek attitude to economics statistics, elebenty percent) but global growth is carrying on at 4% ish.

Which means that not everything is a dsaster, that in general and on average the world is getting better every day. Formerly starving Indian and Chinese peasants are climbing up into the middle class and it’s not restricted to those two countries either. It’s happening in Indonesia, even Sub-Saharan Africa.

No, I know, this isn’t much comfort for someone about to lose their house to a repossession: but it is still true. This curious mix of capitalism and markets is still improving human lives around the world. In general and on average, as the poor manage to become the used to be poor.